The Fitness Zone: Nutrition

by Scott Lindsey:
I have had a lot of people asking me about my weight loss, and the most common comment is how I must be starving myself to death to lose 102 lbs. since September of 2018. In all actuality, I have not starved myself at all. As I have mentioned in previous articles, I have just researched and learned to eat the right foods instead of the junk that I had been pouring into my body for years. In this week’s article, I will go into a little more detail on actual nutrition facts, and what has helped me achieve my weight loss goals.

First thing is the hardest. Try to research and find a program that you feel comfortable with. Whether it’s the Keto diet, Atkins diet, Weight Watchers, South Beach, or any other programs out there, you must find one that you feel like you can make work for you. If you start on a program that you don’t truly think that you can make work with your situation or lifestyle, you will never be successful with it.

If you choose a program, and it isn’t working like you think it should, or want it to, find a different program. Don’t keep doing something that isn’t working for you. We all have to find a program that works best for us and our body types. Not all programs work the same for everyone. We have to be open to change if the situation dictates it.

The program that I chose was very simple. I am using the calorie intake program. In doing this, I do not restrict myself from any certain foods, I just stay within a calorie goal. To find out how many calories you need to eat per day, use this simple calculation.

How to calculate your daily calorie needs

1. Step 1: Find your body weight and divide your weight by 2.2
2. Step 2: Multiply that total by 0.9 if you are a female or 1.0 if you are a male.
3. Step 3: Multiply by 24.

This will tell you how many calories you need to be eating per day to maintain the weight you are at now. To lose weight, you need to average less calories than this number per day. The reason I say you need to average less calories, and not just eat less calories, is that you need to incorporate some form of exercise into your program as well. Exercise burns calories, so exercise + eating less calories=weight loss. It really is that simple of a formula.

MyFitnessPal is the calorie tracker that I use. It not only helps me track my calories, but it breaks down those calories into what they call Macros. A Macro is a measurement that is used to measure 3 key categories of calories: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates.

MyFitnessPal determined that I needed to eat 20% Protein, 30% Fat, and 50% Carbohydrates to start my program. These totals change as you progress, and actually logging them into the MyFitnessPal app on my phone, has brought a huge understanding into how much junk that I was putting into my body. For instance, the average fast food specialty burger that I love so much, averages between 550-700 calories, 40-50 grams of carbohydrates, and 35-45 fat grams. Then, you add a medium fry to the burger, you add an additional 300-350 calories, 45-50 grams of carbohydrates, and 15-20 fat grams. So for your average fast food combo, you get 850-1050 calories, 85-100 grams of carbohydrates, and 50-65 fat grams. They were a lot more tasty before I figured out these numbers.

I have replaced burgers and fries with Grilled Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Baked Sweet Potato, and Fresh Salad with Light Italian dressing.  That sounds like a lot of food, and it is, but all of this added together is only 640 calories, 56 grams of carbohydrates, and 12 fat grams. I also incorporate a lot of fruits and vegetables into my diet. I eat a lot of apples, bananas, white grapes (these natural sugars are broken down by the body easily, and helps curb my sugar cravings). I like adding green beans, turnip greens, zucchini, cabbage, and other vegetables that are low in calories.

As always, if you have any questions for me, or want to suggest any future topics that you would like to see, please see my contact information below. I would love to hear from you.

“You can have Results, or Excuses, but not both.”

Here’s to better health.
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